Riser transition element for compact nuclear reactor

ABSTRACT

A nuclear reactor core is disposed in a pressure vessel along with upper internals disposed in the pressure vessel above the reactor core. The upper internals include internal control rod drive mechanisms (CRDMs) mounted on a suspended support assembly. A hollow cylindrical central riser is disposed in the pressure vessel above the nuclear reactor core. A hollow cylindrical section is disposed in the pressure vessel below the hollow cylindrical central riser and surrounding the nuclear reactor core. A riser transition element connects with the hollow cylindrical central riser and the hollow cylindrical section to form a continuous hollow cylindrical flow separator. The suspended support assembly of the upper internals is suspended from the riser transition element. The pressure vessel may comprise upper and lower vessel sections connected by a mid-flange, with the riser transition element welded to the mid-flange by gussets extending outward and upward from the riser transition element to the mid-flange.

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/625,764 filed Apr. 18, 2012 and titled “UPPER INTERNALS”. U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/625,764 filed Apr. 18, 2012 titled “UPPER INTERNALS” is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety into the specification of this application.

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/625,399 filed Apr. 17, 2012 and titled “RISER TRANSITION”. U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/625,399 filed Apr. 17, 2012 titled “RISER TRANSITION” is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety into the specification of this application.

BACKGROUND

The following relates to the nuclear reactor arts and related arts.

There is increasing interest in compact reactor designs. Benefits include: reduced likelihood and severity of abnormal events such as loss of a coolant accident (LOCA) event (both due to a reduction in vessel penetrations and the use of a smaller containment structure commensurate with the size of the compact reactor); a smaller and more readily secured nuclear reactor island (see Noel, “Nuclear Power Facility”, U.S. Pub. No. 2010/0207261 A1 published Aug. 16, 2012 which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety); increased ability to employ nuclear power to supply smaller power grids, e.g. using a 300 MWe or smaller compact reactor, sometimes referred to as a small modular reactor (SMR); scalability as one or more SMR units can be deployed depending upon the requisite power level; and so forth.

Some compact reactor designs are disclosed, for example, in Thome et al., “Integral Helical-Coil Pressurized Water Nuclear Reactor”, U.S. Pub. No. 2010/0316181 A1 published Dec. 16, 2010 which is incorporated by reference in its entirety; Malloy et al., “Compact Nuclear Reactor”, U.S. Pub. No. 2012/0076254 A1 published Mar. 29, 2012 which is incorporated by reference in its entirety. These compact reactors are of the pressurized water reactor (PWR) type in which a nuclear reactor core is immersed in primary coolant water at or near the bottom of a pressure vessel, and the primary coolant is suitably light water maintained in a subcooled liquid phase in a cylindrical pressure vessel that is mounted generally upright (that is, with its cylinder axis oriented vertically). A hollow cylindrical central riser is disposed concentrically inside the pressure vessel and (together with the core basket or shroud) defines a primary coolant circuit in which coolant flows upward through the reactor core and central riser, discharges from the top of the central riser, and reverses direction to flow downward back to below the reactor core through a downcomer annulus defined between the pressure vessel and the central riser. The nuclear core is built up from multiple fuel assemblies each comprising a bundle of fuel rods containing fissile material (typically ²³⁵U). The compact reactors disclosed in Thome et al. and Malloy et al. are integral PWR designs in which the steam generator(s) is disposed inside the pressure vessel, namely in the downcomer annulus in these designs. Integral PWR designs eliminate the external primary coolant loop carrying radioactive primary coolant. The designs disclosed in Thome et al. and Malloy et al. employ internal reactor coolant pumps (RCPs), but use of external RCPs (e.g. with a dry stator and wet rotor/impeller assembly, or with a dry stator and dry rotor coupled with a rotor via a suitable mechanical vessel penetration) is also contemplated (as is a natural circulation variant that does not employ RCPs). The designs disclosed in Thome et al. and Malloy et al. further employ internal pressurizers in which a steam bubble at the top of the pressure vessel is buffered from the remainder of the pressure vessel by a baffle plate or the like, and heaters, spargers, or so forth enable adjustment of the temperature (and hence pressure) of the steam bubble. The internal pressurizer avoids large diameter piping that would otherwise connect with an external pressurizer.

In a typical PWR design, upper internals located above the reactor core include control rod assemblies with neutron-absorbing control rods that are inserted into/raised out of the reactor core by control rod drive mechanisms (CRDMs). These upper internals include control rod assemblies (CRAs) comprising neutron-absorbing control rods yoked together by a spider. Conventionally, the CRDMs employ motors mounted on tubular pressure boundary extensions extending above the pressure vessel, which are connected with the CRAs via suitable connecting rods. In this design, the complex motor stator can be outside the pressure boundary and magnetically coupled with the motor rotor disposed inside the tubular pressure boundary extension. The upper internals also include guide frames constructed as plates held together by tie rods, with passages sized to cam against and guide the translating CRA's.

For compact reactor designs, it is contemplated to replace the external CRDM motors with wholly internal CRDM motors. See Stambaugh et al., “Control Rod Drive Mechanism for Nuclear Reactor”, U.S. Pub. No. 2010/0316177 A1 published Dec. 16, 2010 which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety; and DeSantis, “Control Rod Drive Mechanism for Nuclear Reactor”, U.S. Pub. No. 2011/0222640 A1 published Sep. 15, 2011 which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Advantageously, only electrical vessel penetrations are needed to power the internal CRDM motors. In some embodiments, the scram latch is hydraulically driven, so that the internal CRDM also requires hydraulic vessel penetrations, but these are of small diameter and carry primary coolant water as the hydraulic working fluid.

The use of internal CRDM motors shortens the connecting rods, which reduces the overall weight, which in turn reduces the gravitational impetus for scram. To counteract this effect, some designs employ a yoke that is weighted as compared with a conventional spider, and/or may employ a weighted connecting rod. See Shargots et al., “Terminal Elements for Coupling Connecting Rods and Control Rod Assemblies for a Nuclear Reactor”, U.S. Pub. No. 2012/0051482 A1 published Mar. 1, 2012 which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Another design improvement is to replace the conventional guide frames which employ spaced apart guide plates held together by tie rods with a continuous columnar guide frame that provides continuous guidance to the translating CRA's. See Shargots et al, “Support Structure for a Control Rod Assembly of a Nuclear Reactor”, U.S. Pub. No. 2012/0099691 A1 published Apr. 26, 2012 which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The use of internal CRDMs and/or continuous guide frames and/or internal RCPs introduces substantial volume, weight, and complexity to the upper internals. These internals are “upper” internals in that they are located above the reactor core, and they must be removed prior to reactor refueling in order to provide access to the reactor core. In principle, some components (especially the internal RCPs) can be located below the reactor core, but this would introduce vessel penetrations below the reactor core which is undesirable since a LOCA at such low vessel penetrations can drain the primary coolant to a level below the top of the reactor core, thus exposing the fuel rods. Another option is to employ external RCPs, but this still leaves the complex internal CRDMs and guide frames.

Disclosed herein are improvements that provide various benefits that will become apparent to the skilled artisan upon reading the following.

BRIEF SUMMARY

In one disclosed aspect, an apparatus comprises: a pressure vessel comprising an upper vessel section and a lower vessel section connected by a mid-flange; a nuclear reactor core comprising fissile material disposed in the lower vessel section; upper internals disposed in the lower vessel section above the nuclear reactor core, the upper internals including at least internal control rod drive mechanisms (CRDMs) with CRDM motors mounted on a suspended support assembly; a hollow cylindrical central riser disposed in the upper vessel section; a hollow cylindrical section disposed in the lower vessel section and surrounding the nuclear reactor core; and a riser transition element connecting with the hollow cylindrical central riser and the hollow cylindrical section to form a continuous hollow cylindrical flow separator between a columnar hot leg flowing inside the continuous hollow cylindrical flow separator and an annular cold leg flowing in a downcomer annulus surrounding the continuous hollow cylindrical flow separator. The riser transition element is welded to the mid-flange of the pressure vessel and to the suspended support assembly of the upper internals to suspend the upper internals from the mid-flange In some embodiments the hollow cylindrical section disposed in the lower vessel section and surrounding the nuclear reactor core comprises a core basket or shroud. In some embodiments the riser transition section comprises an annular main body, and gussets extending outward and upward from the annular main body and welded to the mid-flange of the pressure vessel. In some such embodiments the each gusset comprises a first section extending laterally away from the annular main body, a second section extending upward and laterally away from the first section, and a third section extending laterally away from the second section.

In another disclosed aspect, an apparatus comprises a riser transition element and tie rod bosses having upper ends welded to the riser transition element. The riser transition element includes an annular main body configured to connect with the lower end of a hollow cylindrical central riser of a small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) and with the upper end of a core basket or shroud of a nuclear reactor core of the SMR to form a continuous hollow cylindrical flow separator for the SMR, and gussets extending upwardly away from the annular main body. The apparatus may further comprise a flange to which outer ends of the gussets of the riser transition are welded. In such embodiments, each gusset of the riser transition element may include a horizontal cantilevered portion welded to the flange, and a tensile strained portion welded to the horizontal cantilevered portion and angled downward. The apparatus may further comprise upper internals including at least control rod drive mechanisms (CRDMs) with CRDM motors mounted in a support assembly suspended from tie rods, and upper ends of the tie rods of the support assembly are connected with the tie rod bosses such that the upper internals are suspended from the riser transition element via the tie rods and tie rod bosses.

In another disclosed aspect, an apparatus comprises: a pressure vessel; a nuclear reactor core comprising fissile material disposed the pressure vessel; upper internals disposed in the pressure vessel above the nuclear reactor core, the upper internals including at least internal control rod drive mechanisms (CRDMs) with CRDM motors mounted on a suspended support assembly; a hollow cylindrical central riser disposed in the pressure vessel above the nuclear reactor core; a hollow cylindrical section disposed in the pressure vessel below the hollow cylindrical central riser and surrounding the nuclear reactor core; and a riser transition element connecting with the hollow cylindrical central riser and the hollow cylindrical section to form a continuous hollow cylindrical flow separator between a columnar hot leg flowing inside the continuous hollow cylindrical flow separator and an annular cold leg flowing in a downcomer annulus surrounding the continuous hollow cylindrical flow separator. The suspended support assembly of the upper internals is suspended from the riser transition element. In some embodiments, the pressure vessel comprises an upper vessel section and a lower vessel section connected by a mid-flange, and the riser transition element is welded to the mid-flange by gussets extending outward and upward from the riser transition element to the mid-flange.

A method aspect performed in conjunction with an apparatus as set forth in the immediately preceding paragraph comprises opening the pressure vessel, and removing the riser transition element from the opened pressure vessel, the removing also simultaneously removing the upper internals which are suspended from the riser transition element.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention may take form in various components and arrangements of components, and in various process operations and arrangements of process operations. The drawings are only for purposes of illustrating preferred embodiments and are not to be construed as limiting the invention.

FIG. 1 illustrates a compact nuclear reactor in partial cutaway perspective view revealing selected internal components.

FIG. 2 illustrates a variant compact nuclear reactor in perspective view with the upper vessel lifted off.

FIG. 3 shows an exploded perspective view of the variant compact nuclear reactor of FIG. 2 showing principle internal components.

FIGS. 4 and 5 shows perspective and top views, respectively, of an illustrative embodiment of the suspended upper internals.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show alternative perspective views of the upper internals of FIGS. 4 and 5 with the control rod drive mechanisms (CRDMs) removed.

FIG. 8 shows an enlarged perspective view of two tie rod couplings of the upper internals of FIGS. 4 and 5.

FIG. 9 shows an enlarged perspective view from below of the lower hanger plate showing guide frame bottom cards.

FIG. 10 shows a perspective view of the lower hanger plate of the upper internals of FIGS. 4 and 5.

FIG. 11 shows a perspective view from below of the mid-hanger plate of the upper internals of FIGS. 4 and 5.

FIGS. 12 and 13 illustrate alternative embodiments for manufacturing the mid-hanger plate of FIG. 11.

FIG. 14 illustrates an alternative embodiment in which the guide frames are bottom-supported by the lower hanger plate.

FIG. 15 shows a perspective view of the upper hanger plate of the upper internals of FIGS. 4 and 5.

FIG. 16 shows a side view of the suspended support assembly of the upper internals of FIGS. 4 and 5.

FIGS. 17 and 18 shows enlarged perspective and enlarged perspective cutaway views, respectively, of one of the tie rod couplings of FIG. 16.

FIG. 19 shows a perspective view of the riser transition section from which the upper internals are suspended.

FIG. 20 shows a diagrammatic side view of one of the gussets of the riser transition section shown in FIG. 19.

FIG. 21 shows a perspective view of an upper portion of a CRDM including straps retaining a hydraulic line in which one of the straps is modified to include compliance features.

FIG. 22 shows a perspective view of the upper portion of the CRDM of FIG. 21 installed with the compliance features seated in the upper hanger plate.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

With reference to FIG. 1, a small modular reactor (SMR) 1 of the of the integral pressurized water reactor (PWR) variety is shown in partial cutaway to reveal selected internal components. The illustrative PWR 1 includes a nuclear reactor core 2 disposed in a pressure vessel comprising a lower vessel portion 3 and an upper vessel portion 4. The lower and upper vessel portions 3, 4 are connected by a mid-flange 5. Specifically, a lower flange 5L at the open top of the lower vessel portion 3 connects with the bottom of the mid-flange 5, and an upper flange 5U at the open bottom of the upper vessel portion 4 connects with a top of the mid-flange 5.

The reactor core 2 is disposed inside and at or near the bottom of the lower vessel portion 3, and comprises a fissile material (e.g., ²³⁵U) immersed in primary coolant water. A cylindrical central riser 6 is disposed coaxially inside the cylindrical pressure vessel and a downcomer annulus 7 is defined between the central riser 6 and the pressure vessel. The illustrative PWR 1 includes internal control rod drive mechanisms (internal CRDMs) 8 with internal motors 8 m immersed in primary coolant that control insertion of control rods to control reactivity. Guide frames 9 guide the translating control rod assembly (e.g., each including a set of control rods comprising neutron absorbing material yoked together by a spider and connected via a connecting rod with the CRDM). The illustrative PWR 1 employs one or more internal steam generators 10 located inside the pressure vessel and secured to the upper vessel portion 4, but embodiments with the steam generators located outside the pressure vessel (i.e., a PWR with external steam generators) are also contemplated. The illustrative steam generator 10 is of the once-through straight-tube type with internal economizer, and is fed by a feedwater inlet 11 and deliver steam to a steam outlet 12. See Malloy et al., U.S. Pub. No. 2012/0076254 A1 published Mar. 29, 2012 which is incorporated by reference in its entirety. The illustrative PWR 1 includes an integral pressurizer 14 at the top of the upper vessel section 4 which defines an integral pressurizer volume 15; however an external pressurizer connected with the pressure vessel via suitable piping is also contemplated. The primary coolant in the illustrative PWR 1 is circulated by reactor coolant pumps (RCPs) comprising in the illustrative example external RCP motors 16 driving an impeller located in a RCP plenum 17 disposed inside the pressure vessel.

With reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, a variant PWR design 1′ is shown, which differs from the PWR 1 of FIG. 1 by having a differently shaped upper vessel section 4′ and internal RCPs 16′ in place of the external pumps 16, 17 of the PWR 1. FIG. 2 shows the pressure vessel with the upper vessel section 4′ lifted off, as is done during refueling. The mid-flange 5 remains disposed on the lower flange 5L of the lower vessel 3. FIG. 3 shows an exploded view of the lower vessel section 3 and principle components contained therein, including: the nuclear reactor core 2 comprising fuel assemblies 2′ contained in a core former 20 disposed in a core basket 22.

With continuing reference to FIGS. 1 and 3 and with further reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, above the reactor core assembly 2, 20, 22 are the upper internals which include a suspended support assembly 24 comprising an upper hanger plate 30, a mid-hanger plate 32, and a lower hanger plate 34 suspended by tie rods 36 from the mid-flange 5. More particularly, in the illustrative embodiment the upper ends of the tie rods 36 are secured to a riser transition section 38 that is in turn secured with the mid-flange 5. The central riser 6 disposed in the upper vessel section 4, 4′ (shown only in FIG. 1) is connected with the core basket 22 in the lower vessel section 3 by the riser cone (not shown) and riser transition section 38 to form a continuous hollow cylindrical flow separator between the columnar hot leg of the primary coolant path flowing upward and the cold leg that flows through the downcomer annulus surrounding the hot leg. The suspended support assembly 24 comprising hanger plates 30, 32, 34 interconnected by tie rods 36 provides the structural support for the CRDMs 8 and the guide frames 9 (note the CRDMs 8 and guide frames 9 are omitted in FIG. 3). The CRDMs 8 are disposed between the upper hanger plate 30 and the mid-hanger plate 32, and are either (1) top-supported in a hanging fashion from the upper hanger plate or (2) bottom-supported on the mid-hanger plate 32 (as in the illustrative embodiments described herein). Lateral support for the CRDMs 8 is provided by both plates 30, 32. (Note that in the illustrative embodiment, the CRDMs 8 actually pass through openings of the upper hanger plate 30 so that the tops of the CRDMs 8 actually extend above the upper hanger plate 30, as best seen in FIG. 1). The guide frames 9 are disposed between the mid-hanger plate 32 and the lower hanger plate 34, and are likewise either (1) top-supported in a hanging fashion from the mid-hanger plate 32 (as in the illustrative embodiments described herein) or (2) bottom-supported on the lower hanger plate. Lateral support for the guide frames 9 is provided by both plates 32, 34.

One of the hanger plates, namely the mid-hanger plate 32 in the illustrative embodiments, also includes or supports a distribution plate that includes mineral insulated cabling (MI cables) for delivering electrical power to the CRDM motors 8M and, in some embodiments, hydraulic lines for delivering hydraulic power to scram latches of the CRDMs 8. In the embodiment of FIGS. 2 and 3 (and as seen in FIG. 3), the internal RCPs 16′ are also integrated into the upper internals assembly 24, for example on an annular pump plate providing both separation between the suction (above) and discharge (below) sides of the RCPs 16′ and also mounting supports for the RCPs 16′.

The disclosed upper internals have numerous advantages. The suspension frame 24 hanging from the mid-flange 5 is a self-contained structure that can be lifted out of the lower vessel section 3 as a unit during refueling. Therefore, the complex assembly of CRDMs 8, guide frames 9, and ancillary MI cabling (and optional hydraulic lines) does not need to be disassembled during reactor refueling. Moreover, by lifting the assembly 5, 24, 8, 9 out of the lower vessel 3 as a unit (e.g. using a crane) and moving it to a suitable work stand, maintenance can be performed on the components 5, 24, 8, 9 simultaneously with the refueling, thus enhancing efficiency and speed of the refueling. The tensile forces in the tie rods 36 naturally tend to laterally align the hanger plates 30, 32, 34 and thus the mounted CRDMs 8 and guide frames 9.

The upper internals are thus a removable internal structure that is removed as a unit for reactor refueling. The upper internals basket (i.e., the suspension frame 24) is advantageously flexible to allow for movement during fit-up when lowering the upper internals into position within the reactor. Toward this end, the horizontal plates 30, 32, 34 are positioned at varying elevations and are connected to each other, and the remainder of the upper internals, via the tie rods 36. The design of the illustrative upper internals basket 24 is such that the control rod guide frames 9 are hung from the mid-hanger plate 32 (although in an alternative embodiment the guide frames are bottom-supported by the lower hanger plate). In the top-supported hanging arrangement, the guide frames 9 are laterally supported at the bottom by the lower hanger plate 34. The upper internals are aligned with the core former 20 and/or core basket 22 to ensure proper fit-up of the fuel to guide frame interface. This alignment is achieved by keying features of the lower hanger plate 34.

With reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, alternative perspective views are shown of the hanger plates 30, 32, 34 connected by tie rods 36 and with the guide frames 9 installed, but omitting the CRDMs 8 so as to reveal the top surface of the mid-hanger plate 32. In the illustrative embodiment, a distribution plate 40 is disposed on top of the mid-hanger plate 32, as best seen in FIG. 6. The distribution plate 40 is a load-transferring element that transfers (but does not itself support) the weight of the bottom-supported CRDMs 8 to the mid-hanger plate 32. This is merely an illustrative example, and the distribution plate can alternatively be integral with the mid-hanger plate (e.g., comprising MI cables embedded in the mid-hanger plate) or located on or in the upper hanger plate. (Placement of the distribution plate in the lower hanger plate is also contemplated, but in that case MI cables would need to run from the distribution plate along the outsides of the guide frames to the CRDMs. As yet another option, the distribution plate can be omitted entirely in favor of discrete MI cables run individually to the CRDMs 8).

With reference to FIG. 8, which shows a corner of the upper hanger plate 30 as an illustrative example, the tie rods 36 are coupled to each plate by tie rod couplings 42, which optionally incorporate a turnbuckle (i.e. length adjusting) arrangement as described elsewhere herein. Note that the ends of the tie rods connect with a hanger plate, with no hanger plate connecting at a middle of a tie rod. Thus, the upper tie rods 36 extend between the upper and mid-hanger plates 30, 32 with their upper ends terminating at tie rod couplings 42 at the upper hanger plate 30 and their lower ends terminating at tie rod couplings 42 at the mid-hanger plate 32; and similarly, the lower tie rods 36 extend between the mid-hanger plate 32 and the lower hanger plate 34 with their upper ends terminating at tie rod couplings 42 at the mid-hanger plate 32 and their lower ends terminating at tie rod couplings 42 at the lower hanger plate 34.

With reference to FIGS. 9 and 10, the lower hanger plate 34 in the illustrative embodiment provides only lateral support for the guide frames 9 which are top-supported in hanging fashion from the mid-hanger plate 32. Consequentially, the lower hanger plate 34 is suitably a single plate with openings 50 that mate with the bottom ends of the guide frames (see FIG. 10). To simplify the alignment, in some embodiments guide frame bottom cards 52 (see FIG. 9) are inserted into the openings 50 and are connected with the bottom ends of the guide frames 9 by fasteners, welding, or another technique. (Alternatively, the ends of the guide frames may directly engage the openings 50 of the lower hanger plate 34).

In addition to providing lateral support for each control rod guide frame 9, locking each in laterally with a honeycomb-type structure (see FIG. 10), the lower hanger plate 34 also includes alignment features 54 (see FIG. 10) that align the upper internals with the core former 20 or with the core basket 22. The illustrative alignment features are peripheral notches 54 that engage protrusions (not shown) on the core former 20; however, other alignment features can be employed (e.g., the lower hanger plate can include protrusions that mate with notches of the core former). Also seen in FIG. 10 are peripheral openings 56 in the lower hanger plate 34 into which the tie rod couples 42 of the lower hanger plate fit. The lower hanger plate 34 is suitably machined out of plate material or forging material. For example, in one contemplated embodiment the lower hanger plate 34 is machined from 304L steel plate stock.

With continuing reference to FIGS. 6 and 7 and with further reference to FIG. 11, the mid-hanger plate 32 provides top support for the guide frames 9 and bottom support for the CRDMs 8. The mid-hanger plate 32 acts as a load distributing plate taking the combined weight of the CRDMs 8 and the guide frames 9 and transferring that weight out to the tie rods 36 on the periphery of the upper internals basket 24. In the illustrative embodiment, the power distribution plate 40 is also bottom supported. Like the lower hanger plate 34, the mid-hanger plate 32 includes openings 60. The purpose of the openings 60 is to enable the connecting rod, translating screw, or other coupling mechanism to connect each CRDM 8 with the control rod assembly driven by the CRDM. To facilitate hanging the guide frames 9 off the bottom of the mid-hanger plate 32, an egg crate-type structure made of orthogonally intersecting elements 61 is provided for increased strength and reduced deflection due to large loads.

With reference to FIGS. 12 and 13, the mid-hanger plate 32 can be manufactured in various ways. In one approach (FIG. 12), a forging machining process is employed to machine the mid-hanger plate 32 out of a 304L steel forged plate 62. The machining forms the openings 60 and the intersecting elements 61. In another approach (FIG. 13), a machined plate 64 and the intersecting elements 61 are manufactured as separate components, and the intersecting elements 61 are interlocked using mating slits formed into the intersecting elements 61 and welded to each other and to the machined plate 64 to form the mid-hanger plate 32. As previously noted, the illustrative bottom-supported distribution plate 40 can alternatively be integrally formed into the mid-hanger plate.

With reference to FIG. 14, in an alternative embodiment the guide frames 9 are bottom supported by an alternative lower hanger plate 34′, and are laterally aligned at top by an alternative mid-hanger plate 32′. In this case the alternative lower hanger plate 34′ may have the same form and construction as the main embodiment mid-hanger plate 32 of FIGS. 11-13 (but with suitable alignment features to align with the core former and/or core basket, not shown in FIG. 14), and the alternative mid-hanger plate 32′ can have the same form and construction as the main embodiment lower hanger plate 34 of FIG. 10 (but without said alignment features). If the CRDMs remain bottom supported, then the alternative mid-hanger plate 32′ should be made sufficiently thick (or otherwise sufficiently strong) to support the weight of the CRDMs. As another variant, the alternative mid-hanger plate 32′ can be made too thin to directly support the CRDMs, and an additional thicker upper plate added to support the weight of the CRDMs. In this case the thicker plate would be the one connected with the tie rods to support the CRDMs.

In the illustrative embodiments, the guide frames 9 are continuous columnar guide frames 9 that provide continuous guidance to the translating control rod assemblies. See Shargots et al, “Support Structure for a Control Rod Assembly of a Nuclear Reactor”, U.S. Pub. No. 2012/0099691 A1 published Apr. 26, 2012 which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. However, the described suspended frame 24 operates equally well to support more conventional guide frames comprising discrete plates held together by tie rods. Indeed, the main illustrative approach in which the guide frames are top-supported in hanging fashion from the mid-hanger plate 32 is particularly well-suited to supporting conventional guide frames, as the hanging arrangement tends to self-align the guide frame plates.

With reference to FIG. 15, an illustrative embodiment of the upper hanger plate 30 is shown. Like the other hanger plates 32, 34, the upper hanger plate 30 includes openings 70, in this case serving as passages through which the upper ends of the CRDMs 8 pass. The inner periphery of each opening 70 serves as a cam to laterally support and align the upper end of the CRDM 8. The upper hanger plate 30 can also suitably be made by machining from either plate material or forging material, e.g. a 304L steel plate stock or forging.

With reference to FIGS. 16-18, the tie bar (alternatively “tie rod”) couplings 42 are further described. FIG. 16 shows the suspended frame 24 including the upper, mid-, and lower hanger plates 30, 32, 34 held together by tie rods 36. For clarity, the tie bars are denoted in FIG. 16 as upper tie bars 36 ₁ and lower tie bars 36 ₂, and the various levels of tie bar couples are denoted as upper tie bar couples 42 ₁, middle tie bar couples 42 ₂, and lower tie bar couples 42 ₃. At the upper end, short tie rods (i.e. tie rod bosses) 36B have upper ends welded to the riser transition 38 and have lower ends threaded into the tops of upper tie bar couplings 42 ₁. The upper tie bars 36 ₁ have their upper ends threaded into the bottoms of upper tie bar couplings 42 ₁ and have their lower ends threaded into the tops of middle tie bar couplings 42 ₂. The lower tie bars 36 ₂ have their upper ends threaded into the bottoms of middle tie bar couplings 42 ₂ and have their lower ends threaded into the tops of lower tie bar couplings 42 ₃.

FIGS. 17 and 18 show perspective and sectional perspective views, respectively, of the middle tie bar coupling 42 ₂. As best seen in FIG. 18, the tie rod coupling 42 ₂ has a turnbuckle (i.e. length adjusting) configuration including outer sleeves 81, 82 having threaded inner diameters that engage (1) the threaded outsides of the ends of the respective mating tie rods 36 ₁, 36 ₂, and (2) the threaded outsides of a plate thread feature 84. Thus, by rotating the outer sleeve 81 the position of tie rod 36 ₁ respective to the mid-hanger plate 32 can be adjusted; and similarly, by rotating the outer sleeve 82 the position of tie rod 36 ₂ respective to the mid-hanger plate 32 can be adjusted. (Note that the plate thread feature 84 can be a single element passing through the mid-hanger plate 32, or alternatively can be upper and lower elements extending above and below the mid-hanger plate 32, respectively). The tie bar coupling 42 ₁ is the same as tie bar coupling 42 ₂ except that the upper outer sleeve 81 suitably engages the tie rod boss 36B; while, the tie bar coupling 42 is the same as tie bar coupling 42 ₂ but omits the lower half (i.e. lower outer sleeve 82 and the corresponding portion of the plate thread feature 84), since there is no tie rod “below” for the tie bar coupling 42 ₃ to engage.

Said another way, the tie rod coupling portions 81, 82 can be threaded on their inner diameter with threads matching that of the outer diameter of the tie rods 36 and on the threading feature 84 of any of the plates 30, 32, 34 or riser transition 38. This allows the coupling 42 to be threaded onto the tie rod 36 and onto the threading feature 84 of any other component. The advantages to a coupling such as this is that a very accurate elevation can be held with each of the above mentioned components 30, 32, 34, 38 within the upper internals, and that each of the above components can hold a very accurate parallelism with one another. Essentially, the couplings allow for very fine adjustments during the final assembly process. They also allow for a quick and easy assembly process. Another advantage to the couplings 42 is that they allow for the upper internals to be separated at the coupling joints fairly easily for field servicing or decommissioning of the nuclear power plant.

In an alternative tie rod coupling approach, it is contemplated for the tie rods to be directly welded to any of the plates or riser transition, in which case the tie rod couplings 42 would be suitably omitted. However, this approach makes it difficult to keep the tie rod perpendicular to the plates making assembly of the upper internals more difficult. It also makes breaking the upper internals down in the field more difficult.

With reference to FIG. 19, the riser transition 38 is shown in perspective view. The riser transition assembly 38 performs several functions. The riser transition 38 provides load transfer from the tie rods 36 of the upper internals basket 24 to the mid-flange 5 of the reactor pressure vessel. Toward this end, the riser transition 38 includes gussets 90 by which the riser transition 38 is welded to the mid-flange 5. (See also FIGS. 4 and 5 showing the riser transition 38 with gussets 90 welded to the mid-flange 5). One or more of these gussets 90 may include a shop lifting lug 91 or other fastening point to facilitate transport, for example when the upper internals are lifted out during refueling. The load transfer from the tie rods 36 to the mid-flange 5 is mostly vertical loading due to the overall weight of the upper internals. However, there is also some radial differential of thermal expansion between the riser transition gussets 90 and the mid-flange 5, and the riser transition 38 has to also absorb these thermal loads. As already mentioned, the riser cone and riser transition 38 also acts (in conjunction with the central riser 6 and core basket 22) as the flow divider between the hot leg and cold leg of the primary coolant loop. Still further, the riser transition 38 also houses or includes an annular hydraulic collection header 92 for supplying hydraulic power via vertical hydraulic lines 94 to the CRDMs (in the case of embodiments employing hydraulically driven scram mechanisms). The riser transition 38 also has an annular interface feature 96 for fit-up with the riser cone or other connection with the central riser 6, and feature cuts 98 to allow the passing of the CRDM electrical MI cable.

With brief returning reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, the gussets 90 are suitably welded to the mid-flange 5 at one end and welded to the main body portion of the riser transition assembly 38 at the other end. The riser transition 38 is suitably made of 304L steel, in some embodiments, e.g. by machining from a ring forging.

With reference to FIG. 20, an illustrative gusset 90 is shown, having a first end 100 that is welded to the mid-flange 5 and a second end 102 that is welded to the riser transition 38 as already described. The gusset 90 includes horizontal cantilevered portion 104, and a tensile-strained portion 106 that angles generally downward, but optionally with an angle A indicated in FIG. 20. The horizontal cantilevered portion 104 has a thickness d_(cant) that is relatively greater than a thickness d_(G) of the tensile-strained portion 106. The thicker cantilevered portion 104 handles the vertical loading component, while the tensile-strained portion 106 allows the gusset 90 to deflect in the lateral direction to absorb lateral loading due to thermal expansion. The angle A of the tensile-strained portion 106 provides for riser cone lead-in. The end 102 of the gusset 90 that is welded to the riser transition 38 includes an upper ledge 108 that serves as a riser cone interface.

In the illustrative embodiments, the CRDMs 8 are bottom supported from the mid-hanger plate 32, and the tops of the CRDMs 8 are supported by the upper hanger plate 30, which serves as the lateral support for each CRDM, locking each in laterally with a honeycomb type structure (see FIG. 15). Even with this support structure, however, the CRDM 8 should be protected during an Operating Basis Earthquake (OBE) or other event that may cause mechanical agitation. To achieve this, it is desired to support the upper end of the CRDM to prevent excessive lateral motion and consequently excessive loads during an OBE. It is disclosed to employ a restraining device which still allows for ease of maintenance during an outage. Using spring blocks integrated into the CRDM 8 satisfies both of these requirements, as well as providing compliance that accommodates any differential thermal expansion.

Integrating compliance features into support straps of the CRDM 8 allows the CRDM's to be removed while still maintaining lateral support. As the CRDM is lowered into its mounting location the compliant features come into contact with the upper hanger plate 30. The compliance allows them to maintain contact with the upper hanger plate yet allow for misalignment between the CRDM standoff mounting point and the upper hanger plate. Their engagement into the upper hanger plate 30 allows them to be of sufficient height vertically from the mounting base of the CRDMs to minimize the loads experienced at the base in an OBE event. Having no feature that extends below the upper hanger plate allows the CRDM to be removed from the top for service.

With reference to FIGS. 21 and 22, an upper end of a CRDM 8 includes a hydraulic line 110 delivering hydraulic power to a scram mechanism. Straps 112, 114 secure the hydraulic line 110 to the CRDM 8. The strap 114 is modified to include compliance features 116. As seen in FIG. 22, the compliance features 116 comprise angled spring blocks that wedges into the opening 70 of the upper hanger plate 30 when the CRDM 8 is fully inserted. It will be appreciated that such compliance features 116 can be incorporated into straps retaining other elements, such as electrical cables (e.g. MI cables). The illustrative compliance features 116 can be constructed as angled leaf springs cut into the (modified) strap 114. Alternatively, such leaf springs can be additional elements welded onto angled ends of the strap 114. By including such springs on straps 114 on opposite sides of the CRDM 8, four contact points are provided to secure the CRDM against lateral motion in any direction. The wedged support provided by the straps 114 also leave substantial room for coolant flow through the opening 70 in the upper hanger plate 30.

The disclosed embodiments are merely illustrative examples, and numerous variants are contemplated. For example, the suspended frame of the upper internals can include more than three plates, e.g. the power distribution plate could be a separate fourth plate. In another variant, the mid-hanger plate 32 could be separated into two separate hanger plates—an upper mid-hanger plate bottom-supporting the CRDMs, and a lower mid-hanger plate from which the guide frames are suspended. In such a case, the two mid-hanger plates would need to be aligned by suitable alignment features to ensure relative alignment between the CRDMs and the guide frames.

The use of at least three hanger plates is advantageous because it provides both top and bottom lateral support for both the CRDMs and the guide frames. However, it is contemplated to employ only two hanger plates if, for example, the bottom support of the CRDMs is sufficient to prevent lateral movement of the CRDMs.

In the illustrative embodiments, the suspended support assembly 24 is suspended from the mid-flange 5 via the riser transition 38. However, other anchor arrangements are contemplated. For example, the suspended support assembly could be suspended directly from the mid-flange, with the riser transition being an insert secured to the gussets. The mid-flange 5 could also be omitted. One way to implement such a variant is to include a ledge in the lower vessel on which a support ring sits, and the suspended support assembly is then suspended from the support ring. With the mid-flange 5 omitted, the upper and lower flanges 5U, 5L of the upper and lower vessel sections can suitably connect directly (i.e., without an intervening mid-flange). Instead of lifting the upper internals out by the mid-flange 5, the upper internals would be lifted out by the support ring.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 2 and 3, the internal RCPs 16′ are incorporated into the upper internals and are lifted out with the upper internals. Other configurations are also contemplated—for example, internal RCPs could be mounted in the upper vessel and removed with the upper vessel.

The preferred embodiments have been illustrated and described. Obviously, modifications and alterations will occur to others upon reading and understanding the preceding detailed description. It is intended that the invention be construed as including all such modifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof. 

We claim:
 1. An apparatus comprising: a pressure vessel comprising an upper vessel section and a lower vessel section connected by a mid-flange; a nuclear reactor core comprising fissile material disposed in the lower vessel section; upper internals disposed in the lower vessel section above the nuclear reactor core, the upper internals including at least internal control rod drive mechanisms (CRDMs) with CRDM motors mounted on a suspended support assembly; a hollow cylindrical central riser disposed in the upper vessel section; a hollow cylindrical section disposed in the lower vessel section and surrounding the nuclear reactor core; and a riser transition element connecting with the hollow cylindrical central riser and the hollow cylindrical section to form a continuous hollow cylindrical flow separator between a columnar hot leg flowing inside the continuous hollow cylindrical flow separator and an annular cold leg flowing in a downcomer annulus surrounding the continuous hollow cylindrical flow separator; wherein the riser transition element is welded to the mid-flange of the pressure vessel and to the suspended support assembly of the upper internals to suspend the upper internals from the mid-flange.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the hollow cylindrical section disposed in the lower vessel section and surrounding the nuclear reactor core comprises a core basket or shroud.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the riser transition element comprises: an annular main body; and gussets extending outward and upward from the annular main body and welded to the mid-flange of the pressure vessel.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein each gusset comprises: a first section extending laterally away from the annular main body; a second section extending upward and laterally away from the first section; and a third section extending laterally away from the second section.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the third section is thicker than the second section.
 6. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the second section is thinner than both the first section and the third section.
 7. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the first section includes an upper ledge that interfaces with the hollow cylindrical central riser.
 8. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the gussets include lifting lugs via which the assembly comprising the mid-flange, the riser transition element, and the upper internals can be lifted out of the lower vessel section.
 9. An apparatus comprising: a riser transition element including: an annular main body configured to connect with the lower end of a hollow cylindrical central riser of a small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) and with the upper end of a core basket or shroud of a nuclear reactor core of the SMR to form a continuous hollow cylindrical flow separator for the SMR, and gussets extending upwardly away from the annular main body; and tie rod bosses having upper ends welded to the riser transition element.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9 further comprising: a flange to which outer ends of the gussets of the riser transition are welded.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein each gusset of the riser transition element comprises: a horizontal cantilevered portion welded to the flange; and a tensile strained portion welded to the horizontal cantilevered portion and angled downward.
 12. The apparatus of claim 9 further comprising: upper internals including at least control rod drive mechanisms (CRDMs) with CRDM motors mounted in a support assembly suspended from tie rods; wherein upper ends of the tie rods of the support assembly are connected with the tie rod bosses such that the upper internals are suspended from the riser transition element via the tie rods and tie rod bosses.
 13. The apparatus of claim 12 further comprising: a flange to which outer ends of the gussets of the riser transition are welded such that the upper internals are suspended from the flange via the tie rods, the tie rod bosses, and the riser transition element.
 14. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein each gusset of the riser transition element comprises: a first section connected with and extending laterally away from the annular main body; a second section connected with the first section and extending upward and laterally away from the first section; and a third section connected with the upper end of the section and extending laterally away from the second section.
 15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the third section is thicker than the second section.
 16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the second section is thinner than both the first section and the third section.
 17. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the riser transition element further comprises: an annular hydraulic collection header for supplying hydraulic power.
 18. An apparatus comprising: a pressure vessel; a nuclear reactor core comprising fissile material disposed in the pressure vessel; upper internals disposed in the pressure vessel above the nuclear reactor core, the upper internals including at least internal control rod drive mechanisms (CRDMs) with CRDM motors mounted on a suspended support assembly; a hollow cylindrical central riser disposed in the pressure vessel above the nuclear reactor core; a hollow cylindrical section disposed in the pressure vessel below the hollow cylindrical central riser and surrounding the nuclear reactor core; and a riser transition element connecting with the hollow cylindrical central riser and the hollow cylindrical section to form a continuous hollow cylindrical flow separator between a columnar hot leg flowing inside the continuous hollow cylindrical flow separator and an annular cold leg flowing in a downcomer annulus surrounding the continuous hollow cylindrical flow separator; wherein the suspended support assembly of the upper internals is suspended from the riser transition element.
 19. The apparatus of claim 18 wherein the pressure vessel comprises an upper vessel section and a lower vessel section connected by a mid-flange, and the riser transition element is welded to the mid-flange by gussets extending outward and upward from the riser transition element to the mid-flange.
 20. A method performed in conjunction with the apparatus of claim 19, the method comprising: removing the upper vessel section from the mid-flange; and lifting the mid-flange off the lower vessel section, the lifting also simultaneously removing the riser transition section and the upper internals from the lower vessel section of the pressure vessel.
 21. A method performed in conjunction with the apparatus of claim 18, the method comprising: opening the pressure vessel; and removing the riser transition element from the opened pressure vessel, the removing also simultaneously removing the upper internals which are suspended from the riser transition element. 